OneNote alternative to make a knowledge base
Hey Privacy people,
I am looking for a OneNote alternative for all my campaign notes for my tabletop RPGs. I was looking at Obsidian.md as an option and wondering what their data collection is like?
Fot all my personal and private notes I use standard notes but the free version is not quite roboist enougj. I can't afford to pay premium any time soon I need a free option I can use.
Any suggestions ?
logseq
Unless you need specific functionality that silver bullet doesn't provide, i'd start there. It's very similar to logseq, but doesn't have a bunch of questionable design choices based around a paid sync monetization scheme. Silverbullet is self hosted and has a web app. Logseq is a webapp, packaged for Android and desktop, but only allowed file access for your data so you can't self host sync... Because they charge for that. It's a mess.
Joplin is pretty good for organizing notes.
I tried Joplin but the layout confuses me. I don't get why there is two windows one for text and one for code ?
It's a Markdown editor. You write markdown in one, and preview in the other. Or, you can just turn the preview off.
You can switch to the WYSIWYG Editor in the settings
Agree, and I switched over a couple of years ago. Only yesterday learned about Mermaid graphs and was impressed that Joplin does them natively.
Proton just bought Standard Notes, so keep an eye out for changes there. Otherwise, I use Obsidian but I have it sync to my home server so I can access the same data from my phone and computer.
As a proton user I am keeping my eye on this and hopeing I will get access to this.
Same.
+1 for StandardNotes. It's been a wonderful product.
As long as it stays FOSS, you don't need to worry. You can even self-host Standard Notes if you don't trust their cloud service: https://standardnotes.com/help/self-hosting/getting-started
Obsidian is pretty good, it shouldn't collect any data by default. But you can also check out Logseq, an open source Obsidian alternative.
I've never seen anything fishy from them, many people trust them for their work notes.
It's all .md files you own.
Thanks for the advice
As they are closed source no one can tell you their true privacy policy. It seems better than average from what I've read but you never know...
Personally I use logseq and sync the files via a Nextcloud instance. I can only recommend it, although I also recommend spending an hour to learn the tagging and linking logic and reading through their guide on what's possible. I still only leverage a minor part of the potential myself.
One that is closer to onenote (I think, never used onenote) is Joplin.
Thanks for the advice
Since you're specifically looking to replace OneNote, you might want to take a look at BookStack. It has similar organizational concepts, and I think it's FOSS.
Second this, BookStack is great.
Thirded. I used it when I was learning to code and its super easy to search and reference back to older stuff.
I was going to mention Bookstack also.
Logseq or Orgzly Revived
I use Obsidian, which is quite powerful with their vast plugin library. You can do a lot of automation, and you can check out some of Nicole van der Hoeven's videos, who among other things use it to keep track of TTRPG campaigns, both as a player and as a game master. For example this one.
I don't use their sync service, but have all files locally on my Nextcloud server. I sync them to my phone with Syncthing, which unfortunately means I cannot encrypt them with Cryptomator like I planned, but if you only use it on your computer, that is also something you could do. If you are paranoid about them still phoning home with your data, then you can block its network access with a firewall. I think you can install plugins manually.
I would have preferred it if it was FOSS. I have considered checking out Logseq as an alternative. But the bullet-based workflow doesn't appeal to me, so I haven't tried yet. I switched over from Standard Notes, and honestly it was pain to transfer because the text export from Standard Notes was all over the place, as I had used a lot of different note types. I tried to parse some of these smart notes they have, but I couldn't quickly figure out how they were structured to automate it, so I ended up manually going through and copying over what I wanted to keep. I like the approach of keeping plain text markdown files. It is easier to export to another application in the future, although some of the content will be useless as it is explicitly written for the plugins (e.g. Dataview).
I use logseq for work notes and Obsidian for personal. Obsidian is more markdown which I like for my loose notes. logseq, on the other hand, is more focused on productivity and it's fully opensource. Obsidian is only free for personal use, however their notes being closer to standart markdown means that they could be openned with any text editor and be just as functional.
Syncing between computers is easy – it's just a git repo. Dealing with mobile is tricier but I never needed it so can't comment much.
I had almost the same question. So let me quickly share what I came up with.
I have a ton of notes in different areas. By I was not happy with the way Obsidian worked – synchronization specifically. I didn't want to pay for it. So I got on a quest for the perfect note-taking system. It had to be:
Main text editor
Desktop. I use !helix@programming.dev. It has marksman LSP (meaning markdown support out of the box). This is how I know no other app is involved into writing process (no telemetry, etc). Also zero task switching this way. I still use !obsidianmd@lemmy.world from time to time. I don't use Logseq because it has opinionated file structure, which doesn't meet my interoperability need. Also, I don't always need an outliner. You can turn this feature on in Obsidian, but you can't turn it off in Logseq.
Mobile. I use the simplest markdown-capable apps for iOS and Android. Also, don't forget Cryptomator.
Sync. For the most part I use !syncthing@lemmy.ml to sync all the notes. Such that they are not uploaded into any cloud storage. I don't use iCloud, or rather almost never use it.
As for your question. Obsidian is a pretty good choice because of its extensibility, portability, and interface. Although it easy to get lost in the plugin rabbit hole. Its desktop and mobile (if you go for it) privacy policy is pretty solid. Client-first markdown app – nothing more and nothing else.
Lastly, there is this idea that one needs to sync notes via some cloud. Not true. You should consider your threat model first. Cloud sync is not must. In some cases, Syncthing is more than enough, is more private, and might be a more secure option (as it reduces your surface of attack to some extent).
I guess that's all
This is the same setup I'm running, I can highly recommend it.
Hit the selfhosted community, this is an on-going conversation there with pretty much every note taking app being discussed.
As an aside, while OneNote is proprietary, if you use the full app it doesn't require OneDrive. If you only use it on a PC, it can sync locally with other PCs - I've used it this way for 15 years.
How about Notesnook? https://notesnook.com
Open source and end to end encrypted
This is what I landed on, really happy with it. Sync super fast, keeps adding features, clean UI, great WYSIWYG rich text, and dead simple imports. Plus they regularly do discounts, so even the low cost gets lower. Way better than the headache of SN or whatever else is out there
I switched to Notesnook recently. Would like to see a few improvements like note archiving, but other than that it's been great.
They ran a 75% off sale recently and I snagged a subscription. It's $10/yr if you're a student, $50/yr otherwise.
You can read Obsidian's privacy policy. Basically, everything remains on your device unless you pay to use the Obsidian Sync. I switched from Standard Notes to Obsidian last year and I haven't looked back ever since. You can use Syncthing to synchronize your Obsidian Vault across multiple devices. All you need to do is add the Vault directory to Syncthing, that means you need to first make a dedicated folder in your filesystem for the Obsidian Vault which you will be required to do anyway while setting up Obsidian.
Anytype
OrgNote. The project is still quite raw but the developer works hard and the overall idea and philosophy behind the project is perfect for me. Fully compatible with emacs org-roam, most probably compatible with logseq. There is a "fully managed" free version with PGP support or an option for a self-hosted server.
Project: https://github.com/Artawower/orgnote Manifesto: https://github.com/Artawower/orgnote/wiki#manifesto
I will look into this is the relates to org mode?
It is based on files in org format. But it is not related anyhow to org-agenda and planning. It is an only obsidian-like note-raking system with web+mobile+desktop and some blogging capabilities (public/private notes, etc.)
Nextcloud notes if you have a Nextcloud instance
I am a fan of Standard Notes, but crypt.ee is also solid as far as I know.
I will look into crypt.we thanks.
If you actually decide to give it a try at some point, I would love to hear about your experience as I do not have hands-on experience with cryptee myself.
Do be aware that they use progressive web apps (so there is no “cryptee app” in App Store or Google Play). But this is actually an active choice by them to enhance security.
If you want to take a longer deep dive into the mind of their CEO, Techlore interviewed him fairly recently.
The interview ran so long that they had to make it a two parter:
Have you looked at World Anvil? It's been a long time and I don't remember what the free vs. paid tier comparisons were, but I thought it was pretty slick.
Edit: Didn't realise the community I'm in. I have no idea the privacy state of World Anvil but I'll edit if I come across it.
I am unsure of their privacy but I find their site a bit too clunky.
Look into a static website built with Hugo. You'll be creating pages in markdown like obsidian. You can host it locally so there's no privacy concerns.
If you want it externally facing then there are some options but you'll need to find a site to host your static website and who you're comfortable with their privacy policy.
There are many open source wiki softwares: zim, dokuwiki, etc.
Obsidian and logseq
Eidos – Offline alternative to Notion
Obsidian, but I’m not competent to comment regarding their privacy. You can air gap the install and have it on an isolated machine.
It’s hella customizable, and there is broad support specifically for using it with TTRPGs.
Plain text files.
It's not strictly privacy-focused but The Goblin's Notebook is designed exactly for your use-case. It has markdown, object connections, every object has a player visible setting, so your players can access known content while you keep secrets hidden. There's a free tier, a mid tier at $1.50 and an unlimited tier at $3 dollars a month (managed via their patreon).
For taking campaign notes, bookstack might be an option. It is specifically organized in a book, chapter, page hierarchy.
I also use it for my journal and to do list just because I already used it. Probably not as full featured as obsidian though
org-mode/org-roam-ui in Emacs with PGP support synchronization via git in forgejo
Outline is self-hostable.
Don't count standard notes out just yet!
They offer discounted plans upon request!
https://standardnotes.com/help/56/what-if-i-can-t-afford-the-price-of-extended
I'm using Trilium notes. it's simple enough and does what i need. Used to use Obsidian but wanted something open source, and with Trilium you can self-host the sync server for free (even comes with a handy web-ui).
Note that it is much simpler than obsidian, but for me it's plenty. It was easy to import my obsidian vault into it, and it allows exporting as .md files which work fine back in obsidian too.
Recently the dev said he's putting it into maintenance mode, so no new features will come to Trilium. There's a community around Trilium Next that wants to keep expanding it, but personally i hope Trilium stays as it is and is maintained for a long time.
I haven't tried yet (because I'm not a very organized person) but pushbullet.md
I had this exact problem a whole ago, trying to find an alternative to OneNote. I went through many of the other suggestions in this thread but settled on Trilium.
Super easy to setup in a docker container. Self hosted so I control my data and access. Can by accessed via reverse proxy when I'm out and about.
Notes can be a mixture of text, pictures, code (with formatting based on language)
They are arranged in a directory structure with notes inside other notes under chosen topics down the left, and open notes are in tabs along the top, much like One Note.
The chrome extension allows me to quickly snip and send back screenshots or Urls of sites I'm on, and the android app let's me make quick notes which are filed away by date for later organisation (when I get round to it...)
The only thing it doesnt support, that I wish it did, is multiple users. I don't see why you couldn't just make another container for each user, just not very practical if you have a lot of users.
I use Docbase, which apparently has been archived on GitHub.